Grain Trian Loaders

Montana is the third largest wheat producer in the country. North Dakota is first and Kansas is second. Grain storage facilities in this area are important in the supply chain that moves grain from Montana farms to Japan, China and Central America. On your left is one of two state-of-the-art, high-speed shuttle train grain loaders in this area. 

Each of these facilities can hold up to 600,000 bushels of grain. Their grain elevators are 120 feet tall – the height of an 11 story building. Grain is delivered from the fields to this facility to await shipment by train. The loop track around the facility connects to BNSF‘s main line and speeds the loading of the grain trains. Each railroad car can be filled with grain in about 6 minutes. In less than 10 hours, a 110-unit train can be loaded. The train then goes to ports in the Pacific Northwest, where the cargo is transferred to large, ocean-going grain ships for shipment overseas.

Empire Builder Master Resource Guide 20170702, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park – Seattle Unit, National Park Service/Department of the Interior